Here Comes the Sun
by once-a-glee-lover
Summary: The prophesized Dark Curse failed, but not before Snow and Charming sent their newborn daughter to the world without magic. The Evil Queen, seeing an opportunity to make Snow White and Charming miserable, curses them so they aren't able to find their daughter. What happens when a stranger shows up 8 years later with a message that will change their worlds?
1. Prologue

Here Comes the Sun

Summary: The prophesized Dark Curse failed, but not before Snow and Charming sent their newborn daughter to the world without magic. The Evil Queen, seeing an opportunity to make Snow White and Charming miserable, curses them so they aren't able to find their daughter. What happens when a stranger shows up 8 years later with a message that will change their worlds?

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, the characters are all owned by ABC and their creators. The title comes from the Beatles song (one of my all time favourites).

Prologue

 _The physical pain had finally subsided as Snow White looked down at the tiny baby wrapped in a white blanket in her arms. Little Emma gave a tired yawn as she looked up at her mother with wide, blue, unfocused eyes. Snow smiled at her infant as she gave her a kiss on the forehead as David, or Charming as she affectionately called him, came over to join them._

 _"She's so beautiful." Snow said adoringly, not able to take her eyes off the baby in her arms._

 _"She's absolutely perfect." Charming agreed as he marveled at his new daughter._

 _Charming placed a kiss on his wife's forehead as Snow's entire demeanor suddenly changed. The wide smile that had lined her face mere seconds ago was replaced by a deep set frown._

 _"The wardrobe..." Snow said as Charming looked at her, "it only takes one."_

 _Just then they heard the clashing and clanging of metal armor as the Evil Queen's soldiers ripped through the castle doors. Screams could be heard as the battle began._

 _"Then our plan has failed!" Charming exclaimed looking down at his wife sadly. "At least we're together." He rubbed her shoulder comfortingly._

 _"No, you have to take her. Take the baby to the wardrobe." Snow said._

 _"Are you out of your mind?" Charming asked, although something told him she was dead serious._

 _"No, it's the only way! We have to send her though." Snow explained. "We have to believe she'll come back for us. We have to give her her best chance."_

 _Charming didn't want to believe what he was hearing, but sadly he knew she was right. This was the only way. If they didn't send Emma through, the Evil Queen would no doubt kill her before their very eyes, or she would be cursed forever with them. He looked down at the squirming baby in his wife's arms and kissed her gently on the forehead and with a shaky breath, he pulled away._

 _He could hear Snow's uncontrolled breathing as she leaned down to kiss Emma one last time. She was clearly trying to keep her emotions in check until he had left the room with the baby, not wanting to upset her._

 _"Goodbye Emma." Snow said in a heartbreaking whisper. She carefully handed the baby to Charming as it took everything inside her not to break down then and there._

 _Charming leaned down and gave her one last kiss, knowing it could be their last. She held his face for a few seconds, conveying all the love she had for him in that one look._

 _He took the baby, grabbed his sword and made a break for the nursery. It took everything in him to focus on getting the baby to the wardrobe while ignoring his wife's gut-wrenching sobs coming from their bedroom._

 _Emma remained almost eerily quiet in his arms as he made his way down the hall, swinging his sword, and sometimes killing, any guards that stood in his path. He wouldn't go down without a fight, even as he felt a stab to his shoulder, narrowly missing Emma. He took one last swing at the last of the Evil Queen's men that stood in his way before he kicked open the door to Emma's nursery._

 _He raced over to the corner where the Enchanted Wardrobe was and threw open its doors, placing Emma inside, still wrapped in her baby blanket. He leaned down and gave her one last kiss, whispering "find us" into her tiny ear, before quickly shutting the doors just as more black armored guards barged through the doors._

 _There was a short scuffle and Charming found himself nursing a stab wound to his gut as the guards raced to the wardrobe just as he laid back on the ground, in seering pain. They kicked open the doors, and to his relief, the very last thing he saw before his world went black, was that his daughter had clearly gotten away._

 _Snow heard the commotion from their bedroom and dragged herself out of bed, limping down the hall, severely weakened from having just given birth. She entered what would have been her daughter's nursery and noticed her husband lying on the floor, surrounded by blood._

 _"No." She cried. She limped as fast as she could over to him and knelt down beside him. "No, no. Please, pleae come back to me." She pleaded. She tried kissing him, knowing that True Love's kiss had saved them before. She tried over and over again to no avail. He wouldn't wake up, though she could tell he was still breathing._

 _She heard footsteps enter the room. "Oh don't worry dear, in a few minutes, you won't even remember you knew him, let alone loved him."_

 _"Why did you do this?" Snow asked._

 _"Because this is my happy ending" The Evil Queen snarled. "The child?" She asked her guards._

 _"Gone." They answered. "The wardrobe. It was gone, nowhere to be found."_

 _"Where is she?" The Evil Queen asked angrily._

 _Snow looked bewildered for a minute before smiling up at Regina. "She got away."_

 _The Evil Queen looked defeated as Snow continued, "you're going to lose. I know that now. Good will always win." She held her injured husband's head in her lap, stroking his face tenderly._

 _"We'll see about that." The Evil Queen smirked, despite her loss._

 _Just then a loud, thunderous noise, interrupted them. The glass ceiling of the nursery shattered, sending tiny shards of glass everywhere as the ground began to shake._

 _"Where are we going?" Snow screamed as the Evil Queen laughed._

 _"Someplace horrible...just absolutely horrible. A place where the only happy ending will be mine."_

 _But just as quickly as the cloud of smoke had started building, it quickly disappeared, as did the blackened sky. The thunderous noise and quaking ground quickly dissipated as well, leaving only destruction in its path. Snow had her head bent over her husband's body as if to somehow shield him from the oncoming storm. She took a chance and looked up after a few moments and noticed they were still in the same place as before._

 _The Evil Queen looked confused as she looked at her surroundings. "What's going on?" She quickly turned to one of her guards, who looked just as confused as she was. "Why did nothing happen?"_

 _"I don't know your majesty." The guard said. "Perhaps the curse wasn't as strong as you thought?"_

 _The Evil Queen was nearly shaking with anger now._

 _"What did you do?" She quickly turned her attention to Snow._

 _Snow shook her head, but smirked at her. "Your curse failed, Regina. Whatever you were planning didn't work."_

 _"This can't be." She stated angrily. "It was supposed to take us to another realm, a place without magic. A place where I was in control and you and your shepherd were nothing but commoners who meant nothing to one another."_

 _"By the looks of things, we are still very much in the Enchanted Forest." Snow said. "Obviously it wasn't as foolproof as your previously thought. Are you ready to admit defeat now?" Snow asked as she got to her feet, still keeping an eye for any sort of movement from her husband. She knew he was in bad shape, but she was pretty sure, based on the placement of the wound, that it has missed his major organs. She knew she had to get help, but first she needed to deal with her former step-mother._

 _"You've got to be kidding me." The Evil Queen said. "Admit defeat to you? Never."_

 _"Regina, this fight is getting old. Now Charming and I have given you more than enough chances to turn things around. I'm giving you one more chance. Admit defeat now, take me to my daughter or show me where she is, and disappear from our land forever. Otherwise I will make sure you never see the light of day again as you rot in a prison cell."_

 _The Evil Queen started to pace as an idea formed in her mind. Her curse may have failed, but perhaps she could curse Snow another way. One that may make her even more miserable._

 _"Ok, I'll leave." She agreed, though Snow knew it was too easy. "I'll leave you and your husband and even your people alone."_

 _"But?" Snow asked._

 _"You and your dear husband, assuming he lives, can live happily ever after for all I care, but you'll be all alone." The Evil Queen looked her step-daughter dead in the eye. "I'm not telling you or showing you where your daughter is."_

 _Snow's eyes started to well. "Regina please. Emma's just a baby. She's never done anything to you."_

 _"She ruined my curse."_

 _"She had nothing to do with that." Snow said. "Please, I know deep down you have a heart. And you had a mother, you know that a child cannot go through life without a mother. She's all by herself and she's so little."_

 _"You should have thought of that before you ruined my life." Regina spat._

 _"I was a child Regina. I didn't realize what I was doing. I thought I was helping you."_

 _"You got the man I loved killed and for that you will pay."_

 _Snow knew it was pointless. She'd never back down. She knew her and Charming would have to find their daughter on their own, perhaps a locator spell and some magic beans would work._

 _"And before you even think of using a locator spell, you should know I'm putting a curse on you and everyone in your kingdom. From now on, no one in this kingdom or any of its surroundings, will be able to leave. You are to be forever trapped in this realm while your daughter grows up without you."_

 _"Nooooo." Snow screamed, and her screams awoke the entire castle as everyone else awoke after being knocked out by the supposed curse._

 _"This is my happy ending now. I will spend the rest of my days watching you suffer and you continue to remember the daughter you sent away, knowing she is out there alive, facing the dangerous world without you."_


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Charming strode past the Royal Guards, doing his best to ignore the sympathetic looks and stares coming from the men. He was used to it by now, every year, on this day, he received those looks from anyone he came into contact with. It had been 8 years, 8 years since what should have been the happiest day of his and his wife's life, became their worst. It had been 8 years since the birth of their daughter, since the Evil Queen's Curse had failed, and since Emma had been ripped away from them.

Emma would be 8 years old today (is 8 years old, he had to remind himself, because he couldn't think of the alternative). She should be racing around the castle, giggling wildly, refusing to wear a gown (because lets face it, no daughter of his and Snow's would like fancy gowns). He had always believed that this was the year she would have been given her first horse. She should be learning archery and whatever else he and Snow taught her. Instead she was off in a foreign land, facing all sorts of dangers, without any knowledge of her true identity, of her true parentage and they were powerless to do anything about it, forever trapped in this land with only the memories of the few moments they got to share with their baby girl.

Charming was so deep in thought, he didn't realize he had accidentally bumped into someone. It was Johannah, Snow's former governess and now their head maid.

"Oh." The woman croaked. "I'm sorry Your Majesty."

Charming caught her by the arms, to make sure she kept her balance. "No I'm sorry, Johannah, I wasn't watching where I was going. And how many times do I have to tell you, call me David. You don't refer to Snow as Your Majesty." He gave her a gentle smile to assure her he wasn't angry.

The woman blushed. "I'm sorry, David. I will have to try harder." She gave the man a wink. She noticed the uspet look on his face and immediately knew why. "Are you alright, if you don't mind me asking?"

Charming shook his head. "Not really. It's just one of those days."

The woman did her best not to look too sympathetic, she knew they didn't really appreciate it, but they also understood that most people didn't know how else to react. "Of course." She nodded in understanding. "How's Snow?"

He shrugged. "She won't get out of bed. You know how she normally is on this day."

"That poor girl." Johannah said with a shake of her head. "You have both suffered a tremendous loss, I can't even begin to imagine."

"I just thought it would get easier by now, but I think knowing that she's out there somewhere without any idea who she really is, is only making matters worse." Charming said.

"Well if either of you need anything, you know where to find me." Johannah said.

"Will do." He said as Johannah rushed off to finish whatever she had been working on.

Charming ventured off towards his and Snow's bedroom, noticing Doc walking out of the room.

"Doc?" He questioned the dwarf. "Is she alright?"

Doc shook his head sadly. "She asked me to give her some herbs for her to sleep better. She won't leave the room."

Charming nodded. "That's how she is every year."

"Maybe go in there, talk to her. She really shouldn't be sleeping the day away. It will confuse her sleep routine for sure." Doc said and with a bow he walked away.

Charming walked into the room to see Snow in the same position she was when he left this morning. She was laying on her side, clutching her stomach, almost as if she could somehow feel Emma still inside her. David sat on the bed next to her and rubbed her arm, trying to give her some sort of comfort. As difficult as this day was for him, it was even harder on his wife.

"Snow?" He whispered as he heard her give a few soft whimpers.

She turned over and his heart broke all over again. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot. Her normally pale, porcelain skin was lined with tear stains and her lips were puffy as well. It was clear she had been crying for hours.

"Charming?" She asked through bleary eyes, reaching for him. The only other person who could even come close to knowing how she was feeling.

David smiled sadly at her, and laid down next to her on his side of the bed, with her in his arms.

"It's okay, I'm here." He whispered in her ear, gently stroking her long dark hair. "You're not alone, my love."

She nodded against his chest, though he could still feel her shaky breaths.

"So Doc said you asked for some herbs?" He asked her once she had calmed a little.

She nodded again.

"Was that wise?" He asked, not trying to be rude, but needing to understand why.

She looked up at him with the most heartbreaking expression he had ever seen. "I just want to forget about this day. If I sleep through it, then I won't have to be slammed with memories."

He nodded in understanding. "I get that Snow, I do, I just wonder if maybe that is the best thing for you?"

"How else do you expect me to get through this? You know how hard this day is for me...and for you as well. Do you know that I didn't sleep a wink last night because all I could think about was the fact that Emma should be running into our room at the early hours of the morning excited to celebrate her birthday? Do you know that all I've been able to think about all day was all the things we should be teaching her? And don't even get me started on the fact that I know she is alive out there somewhere without us."

Charming ran his hands through her hair once again, trying to calm her. He understood exactly how she was feeling in that moment.

"I've felt all those things and more, but do you know what gets me through?" He asked her.

Snow shook her head.

"The memories, as few as they are, of the time we did get to spend with her. I just keep thinking about the beautiful baby we brought into the world and I still have hope that someday we will see her again."

"How? We can't realm jump. We have no way of getting to her. She has no way of knowing about us." Snow said with a sigh. "It's hopeless."

Charming grabbed her chin and forced her to look into his eyes. "Never say that." He said seriously. "You were the one who taught me to have faith. You were the one who held me together at the beginning of our relationship when we were in constant battle with the Evil Queen and King George. I got through it because of you, and I vowed to you that I would return the favor."

"But how?" Snow cried. "How do you have such faith after 8 years?"

"Because I believe in us, I believe in our love and what it creates. Emma was prophesized to be the Savior. I have to believe that means something. She may not be able to break the Dark Curse anymore, but who's to say she can't break this one as well? Rumple never specified what curse she was to break, he just said she would save us." Charming reminded her.

"You really think there's still a chance she could find us?" Snow asked.

"I certainly have hope." He said and for the first time that day, he saw a smile appear on her face.

"Then I have to believe that too." Snow replied, snuggling back down into his arms, with a renewed sense of hope in her eyes. She was so thankful for her husband, without him she knew she wouldn't have made it through the last 8 years. She couldn't even imagine what it would have been like to lose him too. Thank god she wouldn't have to worry about that. The Evil Queen was banished, and King George and his army had been defeated and thrown in prison. The only thing that could make her life any better was the return of her daughter.

 _Meanwhile in a small town in Maine_

A little girl with shoulder length blonde hair, and a small build made her way off the bus, carrying nothing but a small backpack and a large leather bound book. She tried her best to blend in with the small crowd of people who had gathered outside the bus station, wanting any curious strangers to think she belonged with someone from that crowd of people.

She looked around, not recognizing any of her surroundings, but that was exactly the way she wanted it. It meant that she was far enough from where she was from that no one would recognize her and send her back. She had taken off at dawn the previous morning with no real destination in mind, only $200 to her name (that she had stolen from the wallet of her foster mother) and a determination to get as far as she could away from that place. All she could afford was one bus, and it was only traveling to a place about 10 hours away, but that was okay by her. She had taken it as far as it was going and now she was on her own.

Looking down she realized she only had about $80 left, and she knew she would have to figure something out soon. Someone tapped her on the shoulder, and the little girl turned faced them with a nervous look on her face.

"Are you okay sweetie?" The woman with a kind face asked her. She read the name stitched on the little girl's back pack. "Emma?"

Emma nodded. "I'm just waiting for my Grandma to pick me up." She lied.

"Your parents aren't here?" The woman asked suspiciously.

"I took the bus by myself, I'm just supposed to wait for my Grandma, that's it. I'm okay, I've done this myself before." Emma assured the woman. It wasn't entirely a lie, she had run away before. This wasn't new to her. It's just this time was the farthest she had ever gotten.

"If you're sure." The woman said.

"Positive." Emma nodded determinedly.

She then began to walk away from the crowd, making it look like she was actually meeting someone. She decided to just keep walking, hoping to eventually find a small town along the way where she could get something to eat and hopefully find someplace to stowaway for a night.

Emma felt like she had been walking for days (when really it had been about 2 hours) when she finally stumbled upon something unsual. There was an orange line in the middle of a largely wooded area. Shrugging, Emma figured that that must mean there was a small town somewhere nearby. She crossed the line without a second thought and immediately the world began to spin around her.

Landing with a thud on the hard ground, Emma lost consciousness for a few seconds and when she awoke, her surroundings were completely different. Instead of a wooded area with a long paved road stretched out before her, there was a narrow clearing through a dense brush of trees, with a dirt road.

Not thinking much of it, Emma decided to follow the road in the hopes that it would lead somewhere. Just as she was coming to a clearing in the road, she heard the unmistakable sounds of wagon wheels and horses trudging through the dirt. Emma looked to her right and saw a large log that would be big enough for her to hide behind. She ran over to the log and quickly threw herself down behind it. The wagon passed her a few seconds later, with a man dressed in old fashioned clothing.

This didn't strike Emma as that odd. She had been through areas of the Easterns states where people called Mennonites and Amish lived. They still used wagons and wore old clothes, so maybe this was one of those areas. It was when she followed the wagon and stumbled upon the small "town" (if you could call it that) that Emma finally realized that something was off. The buildings were all made of all wood, all of the people were dressed in old clothing, and in the distance she could see what she was sure was a castle. As far as she knew, there were no castle like that in this part of the country.

Looking down at her map, she muttered "I don't think I'm in Kansas anymore."


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Emma continued walking through the dark, wooded area in search of anything remotely familiarto her. Unfortunately for her, there were no recognizable landmarks, not that she knew of many given that she wasn't old enough to take a geography or history class. There were no large towers, no sign of any concrete buildings, not even a paved path. The only thing she saw for miles and miles were trees and a dirt path which she had started following. She was terrified, but at the same time she felt a strange sense of calm, like she knew this was where she was supposed to be.

The castle she was sure she saw, had disappeared as she started walking into the dark forest. She had avoided the town and the strange people, not wanting to stand out and possibly get caught by the wrong person. The sun was beginning to set and she knew if she didn't find shelter soon, she would be in trouble. Looking around, she decided her safest bet was to find a tree she could climb. At least if she was high up she could keep an eye out for danger.

Spottling a large tree a few yards away, Emma ducked quickly behind the thick bushes and scampered over. The tree had large branches all the way up that would be perfect for her to sit on. She climbed with the agility of a monkey and settled on a branch about 10 ft up. She was surrounded by other trees so she knew no one would see her, but she could still see her surroundings. She laid her small backpack behind her to act as a pillow before pulling out her most prized item, her baby blanket, and a small loaf of bread that she had managed to steal from the town. After taking a few bites, she stuffed it back in her bag, laid the blanket over herself for warmth and fell into a deep, but fitful sleep.

She woke up to a bird chirping loudly in her ear. Looking to her left she saw a bright blue feathered bird that was looking directly at her. Emma looked at the small bird curiously as it came even closer to her, before landing on her arm. She smiled at the creature and reached over with her other arm to pet it gently. The bird chirped again, this time much more softly, sounding content. Emma wasn't sure what was going on, but this strange bird didn't seem the least bit phased by her. What a weird place this was! She had never had a bird get this close to her before. The bird stayed with her for a few more minutes before flying off to join its friends, she assumed.

Emma looked around and noticed that the sun was up and shining once again. She had been asleep there all night. Oddly enough, she wasn't stiff or sore at all. Chalking it up to the fact that she was used to sleeping in strange places, Emma stuffed her blanket in her bag and climbed down from the tree.

In the distance, she could see some smoke and she decided that it was probably a good idea to see where it was coming from. She wouldn't get too close to any one, but maybe she could find something to eat besides a meager loaf of bread. She followed the dirt road for a while and saw yet another town, this one even smaller than the other. There were only a few houses, and a barn with some livestock. This time she could see children playing on the road, once again everyone was dressed in old-fashioned clothing. Whatever this place was, she would stick out like a sore thumb in her jeans and sweat shirt.

She hid in the thick brush of woods and made her way to the town. No one seemed to notice her, for which she was grateful, but she knew she had to find a way to blend in. She spotted a worn-looking brown dress that was drying on a clothesline and it looked just to be her size. Quickly, Emma dropped her bag on the ground behind a tree, and ran over to grab the dress. Once she had it, she wasted no time in changing into it and stuffing her normal clothes into her bag. Just as she was about to make her way further into town, she heard someone yell, "You there. I just saw you take that dress."

It was an old, large, grumpy looking woman and she was looking directly at Emma. Emma threw her bag onto her back and ran as fast as she could in the direction opposite the town. The woman had no chance in keeping up with her as Emma was small enough to duck behind even the smallest of trees. Breathing a sigh of relief, Emma was grateful she hadn't been caught, but now she found herself in a new dilemma. She was hungry, and that loaf of bread wouldn't last long. Sighing, stood up and brushed herself off.

"Wow, I've never seen someone run that fast before." Emma heard a voice from behind her. Startled, she slowly turned around to see who it belonged to.

There, in front of her, stood a boy who looked to be around 14 or 15. He had fiery red hair and freckles dotting his face. He was wearing what looked like brown riding pants, some kind of shirt with puffy sleeves, and a red vest. He was also grinning at her in a way that told Emma she had nothing to fear from him, though she didn't let her guard down completely.

"W..who are you?" She asked.

The boy threw his head back and laughed. "Sorry did I scare you?"

Emma scoffed and shook her head. "No. I just want to know who you are and why you are following me." She said stubbornly, not liking the fact that he was clearly laughing at her.

He stuck his hand out for her to shake. "I'm Pinnochio."

Emma stared at him in disbelief. "Pinnochio? You really expect me to believe that?"

The boy frowned. "What's wrong with my name?"

"Nothing, it's just thats a fairytale character's name. I've never heard of someone real having that name...a pet maybe, but a real boy?"

"A fairy-what?" He asked in confusion. "I don't know what that is, but Pinnochio is most definitely my name. My Papa gave it to me."

"You don't know what a fairytale is?" Emma asked in shock. What kind of land was this?

"Never heard of it." He shrugged.

"They're stories made up by people about Prince and Princesses and all different creatures and most of them have a happy ending." Emma explained.

"Well we have Prince and Princesses here, but they aren't characters in a story. They're very real."

"Where am I exactly?" Emma asked.

"You don't know where you are?" He asked, although he wasn't surprised. She clearly wasn't from this realm. "You're in Misthaven."

"Misthaven? Which state is that in?" Emma questioned.

"State?" Pinnochio asked in confusion. "It's the name of this realm."

"A realm?" Emma had heard the word before only referred to in her stories.

"Where are you from? How did you get here?" Pinnochio asked.

"I'm from Maine. I was just walking and I somehow ended up here." Emma explained.

"Which realm is Maine?"

Emma shrugged. "It's not a realm, it's a state in the U.S."

"I've never heard of it, or the U.S." Pinnochio said. "Are you sure you're not a portal jumper?"

"What's a portal?"

Pinnochio stared at her wide-eyed. "Who are you?" He asked, not answering her question.

"My name is Emma." She said, although she wished she could take it back immediately by the strange look on the boy's face.

"Emma? As in Princess Emma?" He asked for as far as he knew, there was only one Emma and that was the name of the missing Princess.

"I'm no Princess." Emma said. "I think you have me mixed up with someone else. It's a common name."

"Not around here it isn't. The only person I've heard of with that name is Princess Emma of Misthaven, the missing daughter of King David and Queen Snow. And now that I think about it, you do kind of look like them." He stared at her intensely and it made Emma nervous.

"Stop it." She said emphatically. "I'm sure I'm not who you think I am."

"Are you sure? Because Princess Emma has been missing for 8 years and you look around 8 years old." Pinnochio said.

"I am." Emma said. "I have no idea who my parents are, but they left me by the side of a road when I was a baby, clearly they were not a King and Queen."

"Then how else would you end up here in Misthaven if not by magic?" Pinnochio asked as if it was the most common problem.

Now Emma truly believed she was dealing with a crazy person. "Magic, there's no such thing."

"No such thing? Are you crazy? It's every where here." It was then that Pinnochio remembered hearing of a land without magic. It was where the King and Queen had sent baby Emma before the curse struck.

"I think you're the crazy one. Every one knows magic is make believe and that's it."

"You really are not from here." Pinnochio said with a laugh. "That just proves it, you must be the Princess. How else would you have ended up here of all places?"

The more Emma thought about it, the more skeptical she became. She reached into her backpack and pulled out her book, staring at the large print on the front cover _Once Upon a Time._

"What's that?" Pinnochio asked.

"My book of fairytales. It was given to me by a man who said it would help me find what I was looking for." Emma said as she ran her hands over the leather binding.

"What are you looking for?"

Emma looked up at him, as if deciding whether or not to trust him. Finally she answered in a soft voice, "my parents."

She opened the book to the second to very last page and stared at it. The picture showed two people, a man and a woman, otherwise known as the King and Queen, looking down at a baby. It was then that Emma noticed something that she had somehow missed during the hundreds of times she had read the book. The baby's blanket looked near identical to hers and on it was stitched the name Emma, again which was identical to hers. How had she never noticed that before?

Pinnochio stared at the drawing in disbelief. "That's King David and Queen Snow." He pointed. "Those drawings of them are almost lifelike. And that's baby Emma."

"That's me." Emma said so quietly as she was admitting it to herself for the first time.

Pinnochio nodded. "It has to be. It's the only thing that makes sense and explains how you even found this place so far away from your land. It's because it was fate."

Emma wanted to tell him how insane he sounded, to tell him to stop joking around, but the expression on his face told her that he was telling the truth, and as much as it scared her to believe, she knew he was right.


End file.
